Welcome back - Part 2
by hermin22
Summary: The second Story (or chapter). Minerva returns. 1. The Visit 2. Welcome back


Welcome back

"How can you talk about Quidditch all day every day?!" Sometimes, being friends with boys could be a real pain.

Ron was so shocked his eyes nearly fell out of his head. "Hermione! How can you even ask that?! Quidditch is as important as breathing."

Oh honestly! "Ronald, you can't possibly…"

"Is that McGonagall?" Harry asked, effectively interrupting their dispute.

Hermione was the first to catch up. "It is; come quickly!" She started running towards the figure on the stairs. They had all waited for her return from St. Mungo's, but by the look of it, she should still be there. Instead, she had one knee on the stairs, trying to hold herself up with one hand on the stairs and one clinging to the handrail. Her bag and cane had fallen down a few steps, and she was breathing heavily, not looking up at all.

Hermione was the first to reach her and carefully touched her shoulder. "Professor."

Provoking no reaction, she turned around. "Ron, please get her bag and bring it to her room," she ordered.

She bent down and whispered to the pained woman. "We'll help you to your room. Is that alright?"

A small nod was all Hermione needed.

"Harry, please take her arm. We're going to help her up and bring her to her quarters." It worried her immensely that the normally so stern Professor hadn't talk at all so far.

"Ron!"

Ron, who was already a few steps away from them, turned around. "Harry? Hermione?"

"We are here," Harry stated, slightly confused.

"Oh, I didn't see you." How was that possible?

Hermione rolled her eyes in a way that was reserved for particularly stupid questions. "Of course not. Notice-Me-Not Charm. We don't need any witnesses here. You forgot the cane," she said and pointed at the walking aid.

"Professor, maybe you shouldn't have come back so…" he started but was interrupted by a rather annoyed Hermione.

"Ronald! That is exactly what she doesn't need now. So just GO."

"Right, Harry, one hand under her elbow and one around her upper arm. Be careful," she instructed, still concerned that the stern woman hadn't talked at all so far.

"Professor, we are ready to get you up whenever you are," the young witch explained and waited for another nod.

"Harry, on three. One, two, three." Neither of them was prepared for the groan that erupted from the Professor's lips.

Harry shot Hermione an alarmed glance, but his friend slightly shook her head.

"You set the pace here, Professor. We're just holding you up and helping you."

Step by step, they painstakingly slowly made their way to the Professor's quarters. They had to stop quite often, and a few times, the old woman's knees gave way. Luckily, Hermione and Harry had a tight hold on her and held her up. The old witch concentrated so much on walking that she didn't notice where they were.

"We're here. The password, Professor."

Her voice was barely audible, but it was enough for the portrait, that swung open immediately.

"Bed or sofa, Professor?" Hermione inquired.

The pained woman didn't reply but started heading towards one of the armchairs by the fireplace. By the time she reached her destination and was slowly helped into the chair, she was panting heavily, with sweat running down her forehead.

Knowing his task was done here, Harry brought the bag and cane in that Ron had dropped in front of the portrait and looked at his Professor with a heavy heart. She was far from well, and it pained Harry more than he had expected.

"I'm leaving you in Hermione's capable hands now, Professor." He linked eyes with Hermione for a moment, a silent understanding passing between them that she would do her best to look after their Head of House. He turned to leave, but just as he reached the portrait, he heard his Professor's voice.

"Harry," she whispered hoarsely and waited until he turned around. "Thank you."

Harry smiled gently at her. "I'm glad you're back, Professor."

When the portrait had closed again, it seemed that the elder witch lost her last bit of willpower and sagged into herself.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione took a moment to collect her thoughts and nodded to herself. As unlikely as it was that the stern professor would allow it, she'd at least try to help.

"Professor, can I get you anything against the pain?"

There was a moment of silence, and Hermione was sure she'd be asked to leave now, but surprisingly, she got a nod. "Hospital bag."

Hermione got the bag and wanted to hand it to her teacher, but seeing that her eyes were closed again, she opened the bag herself and found a few phials with purple liquid she recognised as a strong pain medication. She opened one of them. "Here you go, Professor."

Taking the empty phial back, she took the others out of the bag, afraid they'd break.

"Professor, am I assuming correctly that very soon the other Professors will be here to welcome you back and you don't particularly want them to see how you really are?"

For the first time, Minerva McGonagall looked at her star pupil. It was unsettling how well the girl seemed to know her.

Hermione was taken by surprise by the intense stare she got but read in those dark green eyes that she was quite right about her suspicion. She didn't get a direct answer, but no answer was as good as yes.

"I'll set you up for all the visitors and leave you to it, hopefully before anyone arrives. Where shall I put the potions?"

"Bathroom." Her voice was strained and not much more than a whispered.

Gathering the phials, Hermione quickly went to where she suspected the bathroom to be. She knew she didn't have much time and was glad she instantly found everything she needed, before returning hastily into the sitting room.

"Here, Professor," she got her mentor's attention and handed her a damp cloth and a towel, along with a hand mirror and a brush. "Let me help you out of your travel robes, and then you can freshen up a bit."

Not waiting for a reply, Hermione reached for the robes and carefully pulled them off the exhausted witch. Satisfied with step one, she whispered a spell and sent the robes flying to their normal place in the bedroom and started removing her professor's shoes.

"Miss Granger, you…"

"It's done, Professor. No need to worry about it," she assured and sent the shoes the same way as the robes.

Next, she pulled a foot stool closer. "Can you lift your legs?" Seeing the old woman struggle, she gently helped. It was reassuring that the pain meds slowly started to work.

"Miss Granger…"

"Professor, please just lean back and relax and let me handle the rest before the other Professors arrive. If you want to fool your colleagues, you need to sound and look more like yourself, so trust me and close your eyes for as long as you possibly can."

Not waiting for a reply, Hermione went on the make a fire and unfolded a blanket from the sofa, which she pulled over her mentor's legs. The older woman had used the time to clean herself up a bit, and Hermione quickly took the bathroom items back.

"Dobby?" Hermione asked, hoping that the Elf had heard her.

Thankfully, the familiar plopping sound announced the arrival of the friendly Elf. "Miss Hermione?"

"Hello, Dobby. Professor McGonagall is expecting some guests and needs a little help today."

"Oh, Dobby would love to help."

"Thank you so much, Dobby. It would be excellent if you could bring some sandwiches for the professor's lunch, as long as a cup of ginger lemon tea. Also, a pot of black tea for a few visitors and a plate of biscuits."

"Right away."

"Miss Granger…"

"Shh, relax." Hermione took a piece of paper out of her pocket and swiftly transfigured it into a small table she placed next to the armchair in which Professor McGonagall was sitting, quite impressed by the transfiguration she just had just seen.

"Dobby got everything," he announced with several floating plates and cups.

"Thant's lovely, Dobby. Thank you so much." Hermione placed the sandwiches and cup of tea on the small table where the professor could easily reach it and placed the rest on the low coffee table in front of the fire.

"Dobby loves helping!"

"You are a dear, Dobby. Now, Professor McGonagall should rest as much as possible today. The less she does and has to worry about, the better. Do you think you could keep an eye on the cups and plates and refill them if necessary?"

"Dobby is delighted to do that!"

A sideways glance showed her that the elder woman was half asleep. Good. Hermione smiled at Dobby. "Thank you so much." Slowly turning around, she checked if everything was in place and decided that she'd get the mail for the Professor to read. "Accio mail," she whispered and placed the arriving envelopes on the small table beside the sandwiches.

"Right, now the walking stick, and then I think you're all set up." With a few quick strides back and forth, she got the walking aid and placed it beside the armchair but out of the line of sight of any visitors.

Happy with her work, Hermione knelt down beside the armchair and regarded the elder witch. A few whispered words and Professor McGonagall looked almost as good as new with the glamour spell Hermione cast upon her. "You look presentable, and I think you've got everything you need for your visitors. Are you comfortable?"

The old woman opened her eyes and nodded. "I am. I …" She couldn't even begin to find words to express her feelings. Hermione Granger. She had always had a soft spot for the clever girl, but today, her charge had proven to be worth more than gold. How could she ever repay the kindness and care Hermione had shown her today and when she visited her in St. Mungo's? The embarrassment she would have faced if Hermione hadn't taken action so discreetly…

Knowing how much the stern witch struggled with emotions, Hermione smiled gently at her and let her hand rest on her mentor's arm for a moment. "Shh, it's okay. Professor, I know exactly how unwell you really are and that you struggle with other people knowing about that, so if you need help in any way, just let me know and I'll discreetly help you out. You know I'm in your corner."

For a moment, green eyes connected with chocolate brown, and the mutual understanding passing between them was so deep and yet simple that it touched both of their hearts. Yes, she knew the bright girl would be there when she needed her.

A sound at the door broke the moment and made Hermione jump. She quickly ran to the door, just in time to hide behind it when Madam Hooch entered the room. "Minerva!"

Something small and brown slipped out unseen be the flying instructor, and hopefully unseen by Professor McGonagall who was exhausted enough not to trust her eyes.

"Minerva?"

"Sorry, please sit down," she invited, her mind still occupied with what she had just seen or thought she had seen. Well, she'd find out soon enough.

* * *

Thank you so much for all your nice words! My beta is rather busy at the moment, but once she's finished, I'll have the third short story of this series and a long story ready for you.

Merry Christmas!


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